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Continuing our focus on looking for the helpers during the pain and uncertainty so many are feeling right now, we’re dedicating this blog post to some of the biggest helpers at Kaspien: leaders by title and action who are helping Kaspien and our partners navigate through the immediate and long-term impact of the coronavirus.  

This expert spotlight features five Kaspien leaders: 

• Bryce Burchak, Director of Strategic Initiatives 
• Keri Rhodes, Director of Marketing 
• Darby Meegan, Director of Business Intelligence & Product Management 
• Kelsey Gruis, General Manager of Subscriptions 
• Jed Nelsen, Senior Compliance Manager 

We asked these leaders 5 questions about how they’ve been affected by and responded to the coronavirus.  

Learn more about how Kaspien is supporting brands during the coronavirus in our COVID-19 Status Update.

1. How has your team’s work been impacted and how have you adapted? 

Bryce Burchak (Strategic Initiatives): To be honest, the biggest change we’ve seen is moving to work from home. My team works closely with our internal departments to accomplish our objectives on time. With our primary objective being to maximize the growth of our partners’ brands, our work has not changed. We have some different strategies to maximize that growth with the new COVID landscape, but we are still, just as always, focused on identifying and executing tailored solutions for each of our partners to grow their brand.  

Keri Rhodes (Marketing): COVID-19 has forced us to change our marketing calendar and strategy. Instead of running B2B marketing for tradeshows, spring, and back-to-school, we’ve had to adapt and respond to the coronavirus. We’ve worked with our local and state government to coordinate support for impacted businesses, created new discounts and offers to make accessing tools and services easier for impacted brands, and worked with our supply network to direct PPE equipment to several hospitals. 

Darby Meegan (Product Management): We’re now all working remote. The team has had to suddenly become thoughtful about how we do work in a new way – a strange thought, and frankly, something I’ve taken a bit for granted. The team has been super malleable: we’re video chatting more, finding new methods to collaborate and communicate both synchronously and asynchronously, and communicating progress twice as often. The most evident win is that our team understands the vision and show ownership outside of the normal work structure we’re all used to working in. 

Funnily enough, several team members have made comments about there not being a good substitute for whiteboards when we’re problem solving as a team – a problem we’ll need to solve as we see our team working more and more remote into the future, not just because of this pandemic. 

Kelsey Gruis (Subscriptions): Rightfully so, our partners look to us to be the experts on marketplaces. With the uncertainty and turbulent landscape caused by the COVID-19 crisis, our brands are concerned about sustainability. While our need to support brands by being the marketplace experts hasn’t changed, I would say the magnitude of marketplace changes has. We’re working really hard to gather answers as fast as we can, and subsequently, adapt as fast as we can. We want to do anything we can to ease our partners minds and give them the breathing room to focus on other priorities. 

Jed Nelsen (Compliance): COVID-related product restrictions have surged as Amazon unleashed its algorithms to address bad actors. We saw a 5x increase in the number of products restricted. Some of these suspensions were clearly wrong (we saw certain Funko Dolls restricted for having masks on their faces but not being in the HPC category). Our Compliance Team consolidated all the restrictions, prioritized by listings with inventory, and created cases to reinstate products. We had about one week of crazy, but we are beginning to beat the wave back. 

  

2. What are your top priorities to help Kaspien and our partners get through COVID? 

Bryce Burchak (Strategic Initiatives): Safety, sustainability, and supply chain, in that order. 

It’s important that all of us work to address this situation as safely as possible, and we want to model that for our partners. In doing so, there may be some risks to normal business: most notably, managing an effective supply chain.  

Obviously, Amazon has taken some large internal safety measures, and restricted the flow of some products to their fulfillment centers. In addition, some of our partners have shut down their facilities to protect their employees. Given the distribution network that Kaspien has established over our 12+ years, we have multiple means to deliver our partners’ products to their customers. If companies can no longer handle logistics or product prepping, we have a safe and effective means of handling that for them. Of course, not all products are the same, so we are working closely with brands to discuss how we can accomplish this in the most sustainable manner for their business.  

Bottom line: We’re here for our partners, and we are working extremely hard to leverage our supply chain to mitigate COVID impact in the safest way possible.   

Keri Rhodes (Marketing): The health and safety of our team members, and our unwavering focus on supporting brands through these volatile times. Many brands are being forced to change strategy due to COVID-caused economical shifts, and we have the expertise, technology and resources to help them. Marketing has prepared numerous resources that can help brands adapt quickly, and Kaspien has offered discounted rates to ensure brands can protect their bottom line and sustainability over the next few months. The more that brands can automate and trim fat in their businesses right now, the better positioned they will be as the industry evolves.  

Darby Meegan (Product Management): Our team’s wellbeing, prioritizing key initiatives, and ensuring we’re all on the same page by over communicating. 

Outside of some of the extreme health impacts of the coronavirus, everyone’s lives have been disrupted. Our coworkers are trying to find work arounds to celebrate weddings, birthdays, new births, and many other things that deserve clinking glasses, tears of joy and hugs. They’re also trying to find work arounds for supporting loved ones, friends who have lost jobs, their favorite gathering places, struggling to make ends meet, or the passing of loved ones. These are events where video chats can’t suffice. First and foremost, we’re making time to pursue human connection and support where we can. 

Now more than ever, our team is ruthlessly prioritizing key initiatives. With the hurricane of potential projects and opportunities to jump on, we’ve paused and tried to measure twice and cut once, then review outcomes. We’ve tried to consistently ask our team, “Are we missing something over here on X? Is this really the most important thing we could be working on? What are we not working on that we should be?” 

Kelsey Gruis (Subscriptions): For our partners, our goal is to mitigate as much of this crisis as we can, so you don’t have to worry so much about your business. Your focus should be on your employees’ and your families’ health and safety. We’re here. Our teams are able to work safely and effectively from home, and we’re working to answer your questions and provide solutions. 

Jed Nelsen (Compliance): From a compliance perspective, our aim is to provide good advice to our partners about Amazon’s policies (such as don’t mention COVID-19 or coronavirus in your listing, or it will get restricted) and ensure that their products are live and available on Amazon, Walmart, etc. 

  

3. From your perspective, what actions can brands take that will be most impactful right now? 

Bryce Burchak (Strategic Initiatives): Be creative and get scrappy. There is not one answer for every brand, as each business is unique. The widely applicable recommendation I can offer is to identify the most sustainable supply chain to your end customer. However, focus should not be limited to this. Brands should review the key functions of their business and get creative in how to best address. Take data–supported action quickly; don’t let analysis paralysis stymie your pivot.  

Actions should be prioritized in accordance with estimated impact. If you’re focused on maintaining revenue, that may drive a different action than a cash flow focus. Spend time digging into each supporting process for your top objective and think creatively about how to adjust. For instance, if you’re focused on consistent revenue, have you updated your marketing spend to align with demand trends and increased lead times? You don’t want to create out-of-stocks.  

Keri Rhodes (Marketing): Find ways to scale their current operations in every way, so that they can be nimble and prepared to change as the landscape changes. Brands should be focused on automating and finding the most effective strategies for their advertising, with the goal of increasing sales while cutting costs and time. Brands should also be aware of opportunities to help their bottom line, like recouping as many dollars back from Amazon as possible through tools like Channel Auditor. 

Darby Meegan (Product Management): The highest priority is financial stability for your company and your team members. 

The Paycheck Protection Program loan went live on April 3rd. If your brand needs capital to make ends meet (payroll, rent, mortgage, utilities, and other qualifying debts) this is the place to start. Brands are eligible for up to $10MM depending on their circumstances and if they meet criteria. Applications are available on the SBA website. 

Second in my mind is ensuring the safety and wellbeing of their employees. Whatever a company does in a time of crisis either pays dividends or wreaks havoc once things recover. Their response today communicates to their customers and team members the unspoken values the brand holds, it communicates to their retail partners the resilience and longevity the brand holds, and it communicates to their suppliers they’re doing business with a trustworthy partner.  

Third, expand your logistics network – even if only temporarily – to work with providers who can get your goods directly to consumers. Amazon’s supply chain is feeling quite the strain and many experts believe the worst of the virus is yet to come. There are a few options. Deliverr is my recommendation for best direct–to–consumer option – they can deliver for Amazon, Walmart, eBay, personal Shopify stores, and beyond. We’ve worked with them for a number of years and value their partnership. Walmart has recently announced their own fulfillment network, which is a great option to get on their rapidly growing marketplace, however, there will be some delays getting up and running in their platform (including an approval process). 

Jed Nelsen (Compliance): Think holistically and long–term. Can you pivot your business to provide needed supplies for the crisis? Are you maximizing your channels that are still selling (grocery, online, etc.)? Finally, be careful not to be opportunistic (price gouging, hoarding, or bragging). If you exploit the crisis to grow your profits, the blow to your brand will be swift and painful. 

  

4. What actions can brands take that will be most impactful in the long-term? 

Bryce Burchak (Strategic Initiatives): This crisis has made many brands realize how overly dependent they’ve become on their Amazon sales. Now is the time for brands to diversify not only their online presence but also their means of distribution. Other marketplaces are working hard to catch up, with some exciting growth coming from Walmart, eBay, Google, and Shopify in the last 6 months, highlights listed below: 

• Walmart ecommerce sales grew 40% YoY in 2019 
• Google Shopping revenues increased by 7% YoY in 2019 
• Shopify sees traffic increase by 37% YoY and avg merchant growth of 21% in 2019 

If brands limit their distribution and presence to Amazon, they’ll miss substantial opportunities for exposure, sales, and improved margins on these other marketplaces. This pandemic should be a catalyst for brands to re-assess their ecommerce strategy and work to broaden the number marketplaces they are represented on and explore new fulfillment strategies. 

Keri Rhodes (Marketing): Find a partner that has the ability to work through these types of crises and has the team to support brands when they need to focus on operations and logistics. A holistic partner helps avoid frequent and reactionary changes in strategy, which can cause distraction and derail progress. 

Darby Meegan (Product Management): Same answers as above: safeguard financial stability, protect your employees and reputation, and expand your logistics network. These efforts will help in both the short-term and long-term. 

Kelsey Gruis (Subscriptions): Remember that, while we don’t know when, this will pass. It may take time to get back to ‘normal’, but it will. We must continue to be persistent in our presence and brand values, and that means maintaining a strong presence on your online sales channels. Ignoring your ecommerce strategy at this time would be detrimental in the long-term for two reasons: 1) Ecommerce is the current new norm. If people are shopping, it’s online. 2) Whenever this does go back to ‘normal’, brands who maintained their footing will be the best positioned to recover the quickest. 

Jed Nelsen (Compliance): Ensure that you have the right partnerships in place to manage your brand, including marketing, supply chain, legal, etc. When times get tough, who is really adding value to your brand? Also, keep an eye on consumer trends, as tastes and buying behavior will change even once the quarantines are lifted. This pandemic will leave a lasting mark on the economy.  

  

5. What skills and traits matter most during this crisis, for a business and/or leaders? 

Bryce Burchak (Strategic Initiatives): Vision and composure. 

This situation has understandably shaken both our current and future world. As leaders, it’s important that you are extremely communicative in navigating your teams through these uncertain times. Ensure everybody is often reminded of the vision you have beyond one day, one week, or one month. It’s important to not lose focus on the end goal with daily news bringing many interruptions.  

That being said, it’s equally important that your vision is inclusive of changes needed to thrive in the post–COVID world.  Now is the time for innovation and adaptability, so if you need to make a pivot, analyze the proposed change, update your vision accordingly, and get the message out ASAP.  

Things are not easy right now. It’s understandable that many are dealing with anxiety and fear as they try to adapt to COVID life. Leaders have the opportunity to address this and set the tone for their business and employees. Maintaining composure is crucial. The top priority should be to protect employees and steer for safety, but do so as a voice of reason and understanding. Don’t get caught up riding the highs or the lows; keep an even-keel and let your teams rely on you to be the calm during the storm. Be the champion of composure for whomever you are leading.  

Keri Rhodes (Marketing): “Find the helpers during tough times.” A great reminder for brands to seek out and provide support within and without their networks. It’s also important for business leaders to remain calm and search for the positives. Events like COVID will make many businesses stronger in the long-run and develop bullet-proof processes that can aid in times of crisis. Businesses and leaders should also be understanding that everyone in the world is being impacted by COVID, so while we are all in this together, people’s lives are being impacted in very different ways. Extending options and being understanding will go a long way for their protecting a business’s most valuable asset: their employees.   

Darby Meegan (Product Management): Vision, teamwork, and ownership. 

Vision cannot be beaten. The legendary Peter Drucker is quoted as saying “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” I totally agree, especially if your culture is built on a vision. Regardless of your position in your organization, what is the why behind what you do? If you and your team have a shared sense of purpose, things go smoother. Here at Kaspien, our vision is to be a brand’s ultimate online growth partner. Every team member here is empowered to put brand’s growth first and advocate for it. That vision of what we’re doing permeates our development team that creates tools for our customers and our internal teams, it enables our data and product teams to innovate and dig into data to create new solutions, it gives our operations team some gumption in positioning our partner’s goods the best way possible, and it ensures our Account Managers and Sales team are true advocates for the brands we work with. If we were just selling goods, I guarantee we wouldn’t approach our work with the ferocity and creativity that we do. Our vision is our true north and the engine behind our competitive edge. 

Teamwork is always paramount in a business and a team. It becomes increasingly so in a period of urgency. Whether you’re a contributor or the leader, empower your teammates to utilize data, map out their approach, communicate their actions transparently, and make decisions. If your team can operate as a collective unit with each member bringing their distinct experience and perspective to the table, you’ll see times of crisis as a chance to reformat and empower your team. Teams need good process, but effective collaboration is even more important. 

Ownership is next. If you can make decisions based on what is the best thing for your customers, you cannot go wrong. You’ll empower those around you. You’ll form partnerships with your vendors, customers, or suppliers. You’ll create momentum and start seeing others rise to the occasion. The bigger impact of ownership, however, is spreads to others. Don’t jump in and take on every project or solve every problem. Trust your team (ahem, see above), and hand over the reins. Teammates, bosses, and coworkers will rise to the occasion and you may be pleasantly surprised about how many key players have been waiting for their opportunity to shine. 

Kelsey Gruis (Subscriptions): Empathy. I think understanding that each person (employee, manager, or customer) handles and deals with things, including crises, differently. My personal belief is that we need to meet people where they are at and acknowledge that how I deal with something is different than how you do – and that’s okay. Customers need to see a brand’s empathy in that way too. We can’t market a brand/product specifically on how I feel about the crisis; we have to take an even-keeled approach that focuses on sustainability and working together. 

Jed Nelsen (Compliance): Leaders need to be calm, get good insights from the data, and be decisive. Don’t panic; it only makes things worse. Look to what your data is telling you and ask tough questions that get to the heart of the issues. Finally, if decisions need to be made, make them sooner rather than later and commit. 

 

Chat with the Experts 

If you have questions about how your business should be responding to the coronavirus, get in touch with Kaspien’s experts. 

Trust is paramount to the success and longevity of any relationship, including the relationship between brands and their customers. Brands rely on customer trust for stability and growth, and right now, that trust is weak. According to the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer, only 34% of consumers trust most of the brands they buy.  

This can be partially attributed to a shift in culture. Edelman’s research shows that consumers now expect brands to take a larger role in society, with consumers expressing interest in brands combatting fake news and misinformation, taking stands on societal issues, and brands expressing shared values. A 2017 study by Cone Communications found similar results, reporting they would purchase a product because the company advocated for a value they share. 

This shift makes sense when considering the rise of corporate giants like Amazon, Facebook, and Google, whose influence on our daily lives is undeniable. Consumers are increasingly concerned with brands’ greater impact on society, giving much attention to how brands handle and protect customer privacy and their impact on the environment, public health, and human rights. 

Brands should take note and respond to this shift. Beyond just general decency, proactively addressing these concerns can help brands earn consumers’ trust, which, surprise surprise, pays dividends for a business.  

The Benefits of Earning Customer Trust 

Earning shoppers’ trust fosters brand loyalty, with repeat customers facilitating growth. Shoppers are more than twice as likely to patronize a trusted brand before a competitor, continue purchasing from that brand, and even act as brand advocates, promoting and defending the brand, if they trust it. 

Edelman also found that consumers pay significantly more attention to advertisements from brands they trust compared to those that they do not fully trust. With 74% of consumers using at least one method to avoid advertising, that extra attention can provide a significant advantage over competitors. 

Trust is Earned by Demonstrating Competency and Sincerity 

According to Kevin Sanders, a marketing thought-leader with 25 years of experience at Kellogg’s, The Coleman Company, Timberland, and founder of Becoming Trusted, trust is earned through the combination of two factors: competency and sincerity.   

Companies have become exceedingly proficient at communicating how well the product performs, the quality of materials, and its dependability. Collectively, these factors represent competency: a product performs the desired function well. While competency is certainly important, it is only half of the puzzle for earning trust.   

The other half is sincerity. Sincerity is a measure of honesty and fairness, or general goodwill. It means that brands aren’t trying to deceive or mislead their customers and that they’re charging fair prices. It means that they care about their customers’ experience, even after they’ve made a purchase; that customers are more than a number. Many companies struggle to earn customer trust because they fail to communicate sincerity. In most cases, this is not because they lack it, but because they don’t proactively communicate sincerity in their messaging. 

Why is that? 

In the past, brands had the luxury of time to prove them honest and fair. Shoppers couldn’t order online; they had to go to stores, and they made relationships with these businesses. Over time, opportunities would naturally present themselves for a business to demonstrate its sincerity, so it only had to promote its competency in its marketing materials. With globalism and ecommerce, that reality is gone. If brands want to earn trust, they cannot afford to be passive. They must learn to actively communicate competency and sincerity.  

If brands want to earn trust, they cannot afford to be passive. They must learn to actively communicate competency and sincerity.  

How to Earn Customer Trust 

Communicating sincerity is not as difficult as it sounds, so long as you’re willing to match words with actions. Use the following three steps to proactively communicate your brand’s sincerity and build trust. 

1 – Define your mission 
It’s easier to rally your employees and your audience if you have a clear mission to work towards. Start with a long-term vision, but then set achievable short-term goals that will bring you closer to it. By defining your mission, you create a topic that allows you to organically highlight your brand’s sincerity. Share why this cause is important to your company, and report on how your brand helps support it through its goals.  

2 – Invite your audience to aid in your mission 
Once you’ve defined your mission and set short-term goals, invite your audience to help you achieve them. Rallying behind a common cause promotes engagement and builds rapport. REI did this spectacularly during the 2019 government shutdown. As reports came in of littering and vandalism at unstaffed national parks, REI asked its audience to help them clean the parks. It was an opportunity for the company to back up its words with actions, demonstrating its sincerity to earn respect and trust with its community. 

3 – Use social media to engage directly with your audience 
Social media is the vehicle for communicating your brand mission and inviting audience engagement. In the place of in-person interactions, brands can use social media to showcase their products (highlighting competency) as well as their efforts to support their employees, help customers with issues, and their actions in wider societal issues (demonstrating sincerity). 

It also represents a great application of behavioral economics. If brands can cultivate a distinct brand personality that strikes a cord with shoppers, they can create an emotional impetus that encourages purchases or sparks conversations. One need look no further than Wendy’s infamous Twitter account to see the engagement they’ve generated from their fiery interactions with customers and competitors. Readers loved the strong personality and word quickly spread across the internet of Wendy’s twitter account.

The fact that consumers prefer to patronize brands they can trust should come as no surprise. The difficulty has been in learning how to prove worthy of consumer trust in an increasingly skeptical, fast paced world. While challenging, brands should make dedicated efforts to earn customer trust for both the well-being of their communities and the longevity of their business.